Category: Research

They build among the tallest non-human structures (proportionately speaking) in the world and now it’s been discovered the termites that live in Australia’s remote Top End originated from overseas – rafting vast distances and migrating from tree-tops to the ground, as humans later did. Referred to as “cathedral” termites, the Nasutitermes triodiae build huge mounds up to …

Eight genetically distinct populations of hawksbill turtles have been identified in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. The study by researchers from the School of Life and Environmental Sciences has revealed connections between populations in different oceans and identified management units for conservation. Marine turtles travel around the world to feed and mate, but as the saying goes, …

The most ambitious genetic study ever undertaken on bird evolution has found that almost all modern birds diversified after the dinosaurs became extinct 66 million years ago. “The popular view until now has been that the extraordinary diversity of birds began during the dinosaur age but we found little support for this,” said Associate Professor …

Sebastian Duchene and Simon Ho, together with colleague Eddie Holmes, have published a paper on viral evolutionary rates in Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B. This paper has important implications for our understanding of the evolutionary rates and timescales of viruses. Viruses are responsible for a large proportion of infectious diseases. They can …

Evolution, extinction and recolonisation. These processes formed the core of Luana Lins’s exploration into the isopods of the deep sea. This environment was once thought to be lifeless, but four decades ago the abyss was discovered to be teeming with extremely diverse life forms. The discoveries continue today with Luana’s research, which asks the question …

An international team of scientists, including Dr Simon Ho from the University of Sydney, has found that the koala genome is slowly being invaded by a retrovirus associated with Chlamydia infection and leukaemia. Unlike other viruses, retroviruses must actually copy their genetic material into the host genome as part of their life cycle. On occasion, …

Zoos bring together different animal species that would never encounter each other in the wild. This can have unforeseen consequences. When in 2010 one polar bear died and another fell severely ill in a German zoo, veterinarians were at a loss as to the cause of the symptoms. It has now been shown that the …

Four MEEP lab members recently went on a field trip to the Northern Territory with other termite scientists from Queensland, Japan, and Belgium. We collected the giant Australian termite Mastotermes darwiniensis and other species. M. darwiniensis represents the most primitive termite lineage and is only found in the top end of Australia, where it is …

Interbreeding of dogs over thousands of years has made it extremely difficult to trace the ancient genetic roots of today’s pets, according to a new study by an international team of scientists, including Dr Simon Ho. The team analysed data of the genetic make-up of modern dogs, alongside an assessment of the archaeological record of …

A new study of southern beeches shows that estimates of their evolutionary timescale can vary drastically, depending on the way we calculate the rate of evolution. Unfortunately, not every species that once lived has left a trace in the fossil record. This makes it difficult to estimate evolutionary timescales. But this information can often be …